Beauty and the Beast
by Eclipsed.By.The.Dawn
Summary: L has just started the Kira case when a former serial killer from his past pops up in Japan. When they meet by accident more than once, what happens when L decides to invite her to help with the Kira case? And what other dark secrets is she hiding? LxOC


A/N Woot! And first story is _out!_ So please, feel free to criticize, give feedback, etc. My progress on this story is entirely dependent on how my muse is feeling, and she is a fickle bitch who loves positive feedback, so...If you want me to continue on my story than read and review, please! At any rate, read! Celeste might seem a bit like Misa at first, but I guarantee that she is an entirely different characer.

* * *

The fresh smell of the crisp, outside air mixed with the sweet smell of freedom made Celeste savor her release all the more. After ten years in prison, the now twenty-four year old, former serial killer was free, and she had no intention of returning to her former occupation. She had just been released two days ago, and now she was out in the town, nearly skipping with joy.

Celeste had startling white hair, ivory skin, and a love of dark colors that was made obvious by her clothing and makeup. She wore a long, ankle-length dress that was a deep, dark shade of the night, somewhere in between purple and blue; it seemed to be impossible to tell which it was closer to. The dress fit her well, specifically around the torso. It was almost skin tight, and probably would have been if the dress had been made out of leather rather than cotton polyester blend that it was. The dress was long-sleeved and laced in the back in a criss-cross pattern, puffed at the shoulders. As soon as the dress hit her waist, it billowed out slightly into a sea of ruffles, giving it her Gothic-Lolita sort of look. Her shoes were black with a one inch platform and were buckled, dress shoes, further giving her a Gothic-Lolita style. Her snow-white hair was long and fully unbound, stopping just before the back of her knee-caps in loose curls.

Celeste started to hum 'Belle' from Disney's Beauty and the Beast. It always _had_ been one of her favorite Disney songs, and still was. She simply strolled down the street, not paying attention to anything or anyone, much to the other passersby disdain. It wasn't long before she ran into someone and was pulled out of her daze. She abruptly stopped humming, and piped, "Oh, excusez-moi, monsieur." out of habit. She took a look at the man she had run into. He was rather strange-looking, with messy hair and an over-all casual appearance, being dressed in a plain, long-sleeved, white shirt and blue jeans. He had nearly monstrous bags under his eyes from lack of sleep...or some sort of weird plastic surgery. She was almost certain it was the former.

"I'm sorry, pardon my French." She said in Japanese with grin, realizing she had spoken in French out of habit.

"Dazed and distracted can't you tell?" He half-hummed, half-sand in English, in a monotone voice. He had picked up where she had stopped humming, and clearly he had seen Beauty and the Beast as well, which was a bit of an odd thing to find in Japan. Then again, he didn't look Japanese. In fact, she wasn't sure where he might be from. Maybe he came from somewhere in a deep jungle where modern day clothes and sleep were few and far between. Once again she grinned at him.

"Never part of any crowd, Cause her head's up on some cloud. No denying she's a funny girl, that Belle!" Celeste sang, finishing the verse. The two received quite a few strange looks, unsurprisingly enough. Remembering her manners, Celeste quickly said, "Sorry for bumping into you. I should be more careful."

"It's quite alright, really. In the future it _would_ be a good idea to watch where you're going, however."

The man didn't seem to be interested in anything or really mean what he said, but Celeste didn't let it deter her. "I suppose I should introduce myself. My name is Celeste." She said, offering a hand and purposely leaving her last name off. The man stared at her hand for a moment before taking it and shaking it lightly.

"My name is Ryuuga Hideki. Perhaps if we're going to talk we should get out of the street."

"Yes, let's."

The pair walked over to a nearby café, sitting down outside. Taking a second look at him, Celeste thought to herself, _'__You know, he's actually not that bad looking in retrospect. I think he's the only one in the world who'd be able to pull off a look like that.' _Meanwhile, however, 'Ryuuga' was thinking something very different. Ryuuga Hideki was actually the great detective known as L, and being the great detective he was, he usually was up-to-date on the latest news about criminals, including those going into prison and those getting out of prison. And this woman, if he was not mistaken, was on the latter of the two lists. If he was not mistaken, she was a former serial killer, and if he was not mistaken, she could be and probably was very dangerous to the public. And very rarely was L mistaken. It was only because of the possibility that she was a serial killer did he engage conversation with her.

He had recognized her by her appearance; snowy white hair like her was incredibly uncommon, dyed or not dyed. The serial killer that had just been released had snowy white hair and had a first name of Celeste, like this woman. She had pointedly not given out her last name. She had only gotten out of a life sentence or capital punishment because she was fourteen at the time she had been sentenced to juvenile prison. When she had turned eighteen, she had been sent to a real prison. L knew because he was the one who had put her and her accomplice behind bars. However, this case had taken place in France.

So what was she doing over here in Japan?

Attempting to start a new life, most likely. However, L couldn't help but be suspicious. You either had to be insane or forced into it to be a serial killer at fourteen, and in her case evidence had definitely not pointed to the latter. She did not seem to be anyone's accomplice. The twenty-year-old man she had been caught with was _her_ accomplice, not the other way around. It would take more than an insane fourteen-year-old to be at the head of a major serial killing case. It would take an insane, _smart_, fourteen-year-old. And what was worse was the fact that at the time the girl had not seemed insane; she didn't rave on like a madman or lunge out and attempt to harm anyone during her trial. She had not even denied her crimes, really. So, as you can see, it was understandable of L to be rather suspicious of this woman.

Celeste, however, was completely and happily clueless to the fact that she was sitting across from the very detective who had sentenced her to prison. Ignorance _is _bliss, after all.

Wanting to figure out more about her, L began conversation. "Celeste, have I met you somewhere before? You look awfully familiar..." The question seemed innocent enough, but what would her reaction be? After all, it wouldn't be very good if someone off of the streets recognized her as a serial killer.

_ 'Shit.' _ Was the first thing that popped into Celeste's mind. He couldn't have recognized her, could he? He seemed like such an interesting man, too...No. At this point it the game, it was stupid of her to think of any sort of relationship with anyone. He couldn't have recognized her. Still, it _was _hard to mistake her for someone else considering she had incredibly odd-colored hair. What to do, what to do? She looked down at the table.

"I think you've mistaken me for someone else. I've recently moved here from France, so unless you were in France I doubt would have ever seen me before." She said, her French accent peeking through clearly. She looked back up at him charmingly, hoping he had bought it.

The fact that she had taken a moment before answering and had avoided his gaze was a confirmation to him. This woman was indeed was the serial killer Celeste. She had been one of the first cases he had officially solved as L, being at the age of fifteen, possibly _the_ first. It was definitely not a case he'd forget.

The fact that she seemed to be attempting to be charming was even more of a confirmation. Her attempt didn't even come close to working on him, but on a man of lesser intellect it would have been highly effective. She was a pretty girl, he had to admit.

For a moment their gazes locked, and L got his first clear look at her eyes. In pictures he had seen of her, her eyes simply looked black and dull. However, he could now see that they were a beautiful shade of blue violet, almost the exact same color of her dress. Her eyes reminded him of a black opal, perhaps dark at first but then brilliant and gorgeous soon afterward. Truly an amazing shade.

_ 'Charming, indeed.'_ He thought to himself, with a hint of both sarcasm and grim honesty.

"I'm sorry," He stated, remembering he had a conversation to keep up. "I must've mistaken you for someone else, for I've never been to France. At any rate, I must be going. I've got somewhere to be. I bid you adieu."

'Ryuuga' hopped out of his chair, not waiting not wanting a reply from the woman. He did not wish to communicate to someone who had committed murder; his high sense of justice made him feel guilty and uncomfortable around her. He would be keeping an eye on her, however.

He did not trust her.

The whole conversation must have been rather odd to any bystanders who had been paying attention, for one of the speakers had a clear French accent and startling white hair while the other had no shoes and incredible bags under his eyes. Lucky that no one was paying attention.

Celeste blinked, confused for a moment. _'That was a rather abrupt goodbye.'_ Shaking herself out of her thoughts, she called, "Adieu, _mon ami! _It was a pleasure meeting you!" after the hunched figure who was walking away at a rather quick pace. He did not stop to look back at her, to even wave back at her, and before she knew it he was gone in the crowd.

_ 'What a strange man...I wonder if I'll ever see him again.' _She very much so doubted she would ever see him again, if she thought about it logically, but she was a hopeless romantic who had often dreamed of running into that 'special someone' one day, an amazing stranger whom the likes of such she had never seen before, who would sweep her off her feet. Admittedly, her odds of finding someone to have a relationship with lowered a substantial amount when you factored in her past 'occupation'. However, her stubborn refusal to accept defeat would not let those odds faze her.

Even if she could never find someone to start a relationship with, perhaps someday she could find a friend, a friend who might accept all or part of her her. Yes, that would be enough for her. But before she found a friend, she would first find a job.

Standing up, she quickly stretched her arms before walking away from the café to go out on a quest that would undoubtedly take a long, _long_ time.

Job hunting.


End file.
